Trudeau committed to three-way trade talks despite calls to drop Mexico from Ontario, Alberta

RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says Canada is still committed to three-way trade negotiations with the US, despite calls from two provincial premiers to drop Mexico from any future talks.

Trudeau said he remains hopeful that Canada, the US and Mexico will continue to work “within the context of trilateral negotiations and renew and strengthen NAFTA in ways that work for all three of our countries.”

Ontario Premier Doug Ford has called for Canada to go it alone in negotiations with the incoming Donald Trump administration, because of Mexico’s weaker labour standards, lower wages, and concerns about the transshipment of auto parts from China into the North American market. His position was later backed by Alberta Premier Danielle Smith.

Despite concerns about Chinese investment in Mexico, “I am hopeful that we’re going to be able to work constructively over the coming months and perhaps years. to ensure that North America remains an advantageous place,” Trudeau told reporters Saturday at the end of the Asia-Pacific Economic Co-operation summit in Lima, Peru.

During Trump’s first term, Canada, Mexico and the US signed off on the three-way USMCA agreement, after several years of negotiations to renew the 1994 North American Free Trade Agreement. The deal is set for a review in the summer of 2026.

On Sunday, Trudeau arrived in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, for the G20 summit, where the concerns about global trade under Trump that dominated talks in Lima will be on the agenda for leaders of the larger group of advanced economies.

While in Rio, Trudeau may have a chance to meet with Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum, who would likely seek assurances that Canada and Mexico will present a united front to Trump.

The incoming US president has threatened to impose 10 per cent tariffs on all goods imported into the US, a plan he claims will create more domestic manufacturing jobs. Trump had also vowed to hit China even harder with tariffs. 

Trump’s impending presidency was a key topic when current US President Joe Biden met with Chinese leader Xi Jin Ping in Lima on Saturday. 

With the future of US trade uncertain, China is seeking to bolster its economic clout in Latin America through major infrastructure investments. Before the APEC summit, Xi toured a new port complex near Lima, built with Chinese money, to handle increasing shipments between Asia to South America.

Both Biden and Xi will attend the G20 in Rio. So far, Canada has yet to announce a bilateral meeting between Trudeau and Xi, but according to the Prime Minister’s Office, they had a “brief exchange” at the APEC summit site on Saturday. 

Foreign Affairs Minister Melanie Joly and International Trade Minister Mary Ng held meetings in Lima with their respective Chinese counterparts, possible signs of a slight defrost of the relationship between the two countries. 

There is no word, either, of a potential meeting at the G20 between Trudeau and India’s prime minister, Narendra Modi. They have not met since a brief chat at the G7 summit in Italy in June before Canada expelled six Indian diplomats over RCMP allegations that they were involved in the 2023 murder of a Sikh activist in British Columbia. 

The G20 will also address concerns about US support for Ukraine as it defends against Russia’s invasion, launched nearly 1,000 days ago.  European G20 members would like to see other countries step up their contributions to Ukraine, to fill the gap should Trump cut US funding and military supplies. 

Trudeau acknowledged that it will be difficult to make up the shortfall.

“All the allies in the world would not be able to replace a complete withdrawal from supporting Ukraine by the United States,” he said, 

“And that’s why the conversations about why it’s so important to stand up to Russian bullies.”